Saturday, January 16, 2016

The icy weather this morning kept some people home, so in case you couldn't make it to doll club today, here is a short version of the handout I made for our monthly demo. We practiced two different hand-sewn hems on chiffon, and I collected several tutorial links for four different techniques for finishing sheer or slippery fabrics. As they say, try this at home! -- Andrea

Another idea I wanted to try was to do a horsehair braid hem. Of course, that would be very heavy for such a light fabric, and often far too big for our doll scale. However, I think the technique could be applied to a sheer wire-edge ribbon to get a similar effect on circle skirts or other skirts where you want that extra volume and movement.

Member
Birthdays

December Meeting
Minutes

Members present:Ann
C., Virginia, Sue, Mary, Ann R., Leslie, Denise, Jude, Martha, Ron, Julie G.,
Kathryn, Nita, Janet, Andrea, Maggie, Julie W., and Erin.We all had a fantastic time at our annual
Christmas party with great food, fun games and being with our dollmaker family!

Show and Tell

Kathryn made a wonderful doll of her own design from
an old worn out favorite sweater.

Martha has been busy finishing quilts.

Julie G. showed us a doll named
“Smile” she purchased from dollmaker Charlie Patricolo who designed and made
the doll.Our club is considering asking
her to do a workshop for us.

Janet modeled a repurposed sweater skirt she made from an idea Katie had shown in a previous meeting.She also showed us a junk fairy she had purchased at a craft show.

Andrea finished a puppet doll named
Calliope she adapted from Lucy Landry’s Bridgette pattern as well as her Katriona
made from Angela Jarecki’s Traveler Doll
workshop pattern.

Mary showed us a purchase she made at
a yard sale.It was made from a gourd
and has great potential for a future doll.

Andrea reminded us all to be sure to give credit to pattern
designers whenever a doll has been made from their patterns.This includes pictures of dolls that are
shown online.

Business Meeting

First we want to thank Maggie and her helpers for the great
job they did with our November Show and Sale!The day went well considering the weather and the new site for the
show.Maggie suggested that next year we
try to get some muscle men to help with moving the tables!The officers for 2016 were voted upon and accepted as
follows:

A special thanks to our outgoing officers Julie G, Erin,
and Maggie. Your dedication to your
offices has truly been appreciated.

Programs for 2016 were discussed.Andrea suggested projects from Colette
Wolff’s book “The Art of Fabric Manipulation”.Projects could include pleating, smocking, all kinds of handwork and
embellishing.She graciously offered to
do the January program based on something from the book.The name tag drawing was won by Andrea.Jude suggested adding some trims to the
drawing basket.Sue suggested a UFO Challenge for 2016.Those interested in the challenge need to
bring a work in progress (UFO-unfinished object) to the January or February
meeting.The finished work is to be
brought to the March meeting to show for a prize!So, are you members up to the challenge?
Let’s do it!

With the coming of the New Year a new yearly challenge
had to be decided upon.We started with
15 ideas and narrowed it down to 3.The
winner for the 2016 Challenge Theme is “The Elements”.Your doll must personify or reflect or
symbolize an element, or a group of them.You can choose one of the four elements if you like—Earth, Air, Water or
Fire.You could use the Chinese version
of this idea that adds Wood and Stone to the element list.You could go to the Periodic Table and choose
an element like oxygen or platinum to build an idea around.It doesn’t have to be either of these, you
might come up with another concept altogether.If you have questions or want more clarification or examples, just ask.
We will have a critique form and deadline soon so start thinking of ideas and
materials to use.

After all the business was attended to it was time to
feast and exchange gifts.Sue and
Virginia entertained us with a trivia game with two players playing against
each other in order to choose their gift.What a great time testing our knowledge base!And there were fabulous gifts with wonderful
handmade gifts and lots of fun fabrics and trims and storage containers!

Sue
and Virginia also entertained us with a plastic wrap unwrapping game played
with the club divided into two teams.It
seems we all were winners!What
fun!Thanks Sue and Virginia!

Thanks to all our club members for a fantastic 2015!

Next Meeting

Program by Andrea on Fun Fussy Fabric FinishesBring a UFO for challengeREMINDER:Dues
are due!Please bring a check for $25
payable to Doll Creators to the January meeting or send a check to Jude.